In this study, to improve the efficiency of the original Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI_original), we coupled the Soil and Water Assessment tool (SWAT) and PDSI_original to construct a drought index called PDSI_SWAT. The constructed PDSI_SWAT is applied in the Wei River Basin (WRB) of China during 1960–2012. The comparison of the PDSI_SWAT with four other commonly used drought indices reve...

Drought is a normal part of climate and occurs in virtually all regions of the world. Recent droughts have illustrated the vulnerability of all parts of the United States to extended periods of precipitation deficiency. Drought preparedness planning has become a widely accepted tool for governments at all levels to apply to reduce the risks to future events. In the United States, planning has b...

Drought stress is a major abiotic constraint limiting crop production world wide. In current study, we investigated the adverse effects of drought stress on growth, yield and endogenous phytohormones of soybean. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) solutions of elevated strength (8% & 16%) were used for drought stress induction. Drought stress period span for two weeks each at pre and post flowering growt...

This study was conducted to evaluate antioxidant enzyme activities in four caprifig varieties under drought stress and subsequent rewatering in order to screen drought tolerance. Leaf relative water content and membrane stability index significantly reduced under drought stress. ‘Shah Anjir’ and ‘Khormaei’ were able to preserve the highest relative water content and membrane stability index lev...

Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses threatening rice (Oryza sativa) production worldwide. Drought resistance is controlled by multiple genes, and therefore, a multi-gene genetic engineering strategy is theoretically useful for improving drought resistance. However, the experimental evidence for such a strategy is still lacking. In this study, a few drought-responsive genes from rice we...

The objectives of this study were to investigate whether seed biopriming through drought tolerant isolates of Trichoderma harzianum induces drought tolerance in wheat. Physiological and biochemical parameters were also monitored under greenhouse conditions to explore the mechanism underlying plant water stress resilience in response to Trichoderma inoculation.The impact of bioprospecting Tricho...

There is increasing concern worldwide about the ineffectiveness of current drought management practices that are largely based on crisis management. These practices are reactive and, therefore, only treat the symptoms (impacts) of drought rather than the underlying causes for the vulnerabilities associated with impacts. Through the adoption of national drought policies that are focused on risk ...

It is not clear yet how extreme drought and nitrogen (N) deposition influence grassland ecosystem functions when they are considered together, especially in complex field conditions. To explore the response of the Leymus chinensis meadow ecosystem to manipulated extreme drought (45 days), N addition and their interaction, we measured leaf photosynthetic characteristics, aboveground phytomass on...

Drought is one of major environmental determinants of plant growth and productivity. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a legume perennial forage crop native to the arid and semi-arid environment, which is an ideal candidate to study the biochemical and molecular mechanisms conferring drought resistance in plants. In this study, drought stress responses of two alfalfa varieties, Longdong and Algonqui...

We examined the relationship between satellite measurements of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) and several meteorological drought indices, including the multi-time-scale standard precipitation index (SPI) and the Palmer drought severity index (PDSI), to evaluate the potential of using SIF to monitor and assess drought. We found significant positive relationships between SIF and dro...